Trump's Bogus Invitation To Throw Out A First-Pitch For The Yankees Was For August 15. When His Lie Was Exposed, Trump Declined The Offer He Alone Created, Saying He Was Too Busy. That Was Another Lie. He Spent All Of Saturday At His New Jersey Golf Course, While His Younger Brother Died In A Manhattan Hospital

Three weeks ago, Donald Trump was allegedly invited to throw out the first pitch at Saturday's Red Sox-Yankees game. Trump declined the offer two days after he announced it, saying his was much too busy with the coronavirus and the economy "and much else".

What really happened was Trump was jealous because the Nationals had invited Dr. Fauci to throw out the first pitch at the Nationals' Opening Day game. So Trump did what he does best: he lied, talking up a fictitious invitation from the Yankees. Trump's bogus story unraveled extremely quickly and within 48 hours he back-tracked, tweeting that he had declined the "invitation" that he created.

But at least Trump was true to his word about super-duper busy doing presidential stuff on Saturday, right?

Nope.

He spent the entire day golfing.

Today is August 15 — the day Trump said he would be too busy to throw out the first pitch at the Yankees game. Surprise! He was golfing. https://t.co/vjKWufTbV8

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 16, 2020

Mary Trump's book Too Much and Never Enough reports that when her father died alone in the hospital in 1981, neither his parents nor his siblings comforted him in his last hours of life. Mary writes that her uncle Donald went to the movies.

Robert Trump, Donald's younger brother, passed away at the age of 71 on Saturday at Manhattan's New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Donald released a first-person statement (that he clearly did not write), referring to "my wonderful brother" and "my best friend". Yet Donald Trump spent the entire day at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, while his "wonderful" "best friend" drew his last breath. It was his 272nd visit to a golf course during his presidency. The 272 trips have cost taxpayers more than $140,000,000.

The Times reported Trump visited his brother in the hospital on Friday. After the revelation in his niece's book, he knew he had to, but he stayed less than an hour. Before his quick visit, Trump told the press: "We've had a great relationship for a long time, from Day 1, a long time ago."

Naturally, since Trump was speaking, that was a lie. The two men were estranged for many years (possibly as many as 25 years), reconciling only about five years ago, when Trump began his bid for the White House.

***

A week ago, Slate published William Saletan's "The Trump Pandemic: A Blow-By-Blow Account Of How The President Killed Thousands Of Americans". Everyone should read it.

Trump ... concealed the threat, impeded the U.S. government's response, silenced those who sought to warn the public, and pushed states to take risks that escalated the tragedy. He's personally responsible for tens of thousands of deaths.

This isn't speculation. All the evidence is in the public record. But the truth, unlike Trump's false narrative, is scattered in different places. It's in emails, leaks, interviews, hearings, scientific reports, and the president's stray remarks. This article puts those fragments together. It documents Trump's interference or negligence in every stage of the government's failure: preparation, mobilization, public communication, testing, mitigation, and reopening.